Thread: Land Rovers during the Snowy Scheme

Originally Posted by stealth

What is the vehicle in the background in that photo?

Not one of these is it?
I don't know if they were used in Australia but the profile looks similar to me.
Don.

Dodge Power Wagon?


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Originally Posted by Don 130

Not one of these is it?
I don't know if they were used in Australia but the profile looks similar to me.
Don.

Only if they had a time machine. The Toyota BJ only started production in 1953, although prototypes existed in 1951. As pointed out earlier, the photo is dated 1950.

And as far as I know the earliest Toyota four wheel drive to reach Australia was in 1958. While it is possible earlier examples made it to Australia, it is very unlikely - even in 1958 anti-Japanese sentiment was still very strong, and only desperation and long delivery times for Landrovers drove Theiss to go Japanese.

John

The issue was that the project needed more Land Rovers and Land Rover couldn't get them out fast enough. SMHS looked elsewhere and asked Japan to supply and they developed the Land Cruiser. Completely designed to meet Australian conditions.

Originally Posted by Discofever

The issue was that the project needed more Land Rovers and Land Rover couldn't get them out fast enough. SMHS looked elsewhere and asked Japan to supply and they developed the Land Cruiser. Completely designed to meet Australian conditions.

No. SMHEA did not use Landcruisers until long after Theiss (one of their contractors), and then only a few of them.

And the Landcruiser was not designed to suit Australian conditions either. It was designed to meet a Japanese police requirement, and only later modified to be more suitable for export. As late as 1965, when I first used them, they had a number of features that showed a lack of Australian input into design, including lousy steering and upholstery and seats that did not stand up to Australian conditions even in the short term. Although even then, comparison of the manuals with the actual vehicles showed significant modifications for Australia, for example, sixteen inch wheels, and a chassis extension (as with the Landrover 120 later) to the cab/chassis FJ45.

It is possible that the introduction of a two speed transfer case with the FJ-40/45 in 1961? may have resulted from Australian input, but it is worth noting that a four speed gearbox and a diesel did not appear until the 1970s, long after there was substantial demand for them here, and almost twenty years after Landrover offered a diesel.

John

Originally Posted by Discofever

The issue was that the project needed more Land Rovers and Land Rover couldn't get them out fast enough. SMHS looked elsewhere and asked Japan to supply and they developed the Land Cruiser. Completely designed to meet Australian conditions.

Where do these myths come from?

The records show that SMHEA purchased in batches but there were plenty of capacity to supply SMHEA, numerous other government departments as well as private buyers. If there were shortages in supply Rover Co wouldn't have expanded its distribution base to towns an cities across the country including many small rural towns such as Braidwood and Grenfell. They would have conserved the supply for the major government customers.

As I stated before SMHEA were still buying Land Rovers at the end of the scheme construction phase in the 1970s and as John has said SMHEA Land Cruiser were few and far between, particularly before the LC received the 4 speed gearbox.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Where do these myths come from?
.........

Mostly from Toyota, but they may have a basis in fact, however slim.
Rover was unable to meet demand for Landrovers until well into Series 3 production, if not later. Hence, despite increasing numbers being shipped to Australia (as elsewhere), demand was still above supply, leading to long lead times for orders, despite the fact that supply was expanding, just not as fast as demand. This would have been exacerbated by the first ADF orders of 1958.

But SMHEA had been buying Landrovers for almost ten years by then, had a good handle on their needs and the delivery times, and would undoubtedly have placed orders so that they were available when needed.

Theiss, on the other hand, having landed a major contract, and having no significant background in buying Landrovers, could not expect early delivery.

John